Glorious October has arrived and with it comes all manner of ghostly habits and activities. I half-expected a flurry of horrific video game crowdfunding initiatives as well but that's not the case this year. At least there's a fear-based magazine to back!

As always, we have no insider information or financial interest in any of these projects, and no one at Retronauts has been compensated for including anything on this page. To the best of my ability I have not (and never will) endorse any campaign built around AI-generated assets. Also, in light of the ongoing pandemic, we recommend only backing crowdfunding campaigns if you feel comfortable with your own security and stability.

Black Tower Enigma (ends Oct 3 estimated reward date Feb 2026)
Everyone loves the Game Boy Zeldas and this looks like a loving tribute to said games, albiet one that's more puzzley than actiony. The devs will release BTE for actual Game Boy hardware along with ports for Steam and consoles. There's a demo up if you'd like to climb the tower on your own time.

Fearzine Issue #4 (ends Oct 4 estimated reward date Dec 2025)
The latest issue of this periodical "focused on horror games, nostalgia, and titles from indie studios and developers" has a cover story on Heartworm, the 2025 indie throwback survival horror game that I swear I will play at one point.

The Wor[l]ds of Yoko Taro (ends Oct 9 estimated reward date Mar 2026)
Archipel has interviewed many Japanese developers over the years, usually releasing the footage in documentary form, but for this Kickstarter they're aiming to publish a record of their talks with Yoko Taro. 

Complete Sega CD & 32X Collector's Book (ends Oct 9 estimated reward date Oct 2025)
I love fan-made compilations of past consoles and their libraries even when it's a machine I never owned myself. Author Jeffrey Wittenhagen seeks funding for a book about Sega's less-than-popular add-ons for the Mega Drive/Genesis and all the software released for those platforms in all regions.

Dungeons Deep (ends Oct 10 estimated reward date Jun 2026)
Normally I wouldn't think much of yet another indie Soulslike but when I saw the title Dungeons Deep I thought "lol you mean like Deep Down" and folks, these developers mention Deep Down in their campaign and that makes me all the more curious about the finished project. They've released a demo if you want to go diving into the darkness for yourself.

BLANKSWORD (ends Oct 17 estimated reward date Jun 2027)
"An Angel is always dangerous even without his brain" is a hell of a thing to include in a trailer, let alone in one for a "roguelike RPG" about reclaiming your own mind. There's a playable demo that carries over to the full game once it comes out.

• kickstarter
• books
• D Feit
• magazines
• yoko taro